Is It Chiie or Chile?

The general manager of the Chilean mint has been sacked after thousands of coins were issued with the name of the country spelt wrongly. The 50-peso coins were issued in 2008, but no-one noticed the mistake until 2009. Instead of C-H-I-L-E, the coins had C-H-I-I-E stamped on them.

The 50-peso piece is 2.5 centimeters across, just under an inch, making it difficult to immediately see on the faulty coins the word.

The coins have since become collectors' items and the mint says it has no plans to take them out of circulation. But the mistake has cost the mint's general manager, Gregorio Iñiguez, and several other employees, their jobs.